Neck Pain
A stiff, painful neck can make it hard to sit up straight at work or look down to tie your shoes. Physical therapy restores neck movement, strengthens the muscles that hold your head up and corrects the habits that overload them. Joint Effort Physical Therapy treats neck pain in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Where neck pain shows up and what goes with it
Neck pain usually runs from the base of the skull to the top of the shoulder blades. It can be a constant dull ache or sharp and stabbing, and it often comes with neck and shoulder pain together, trouble sleeping, and discomfort after staying in one position too long. A stiff neck or a crick in neck after a night of poor sleep is the mild end of the same problem.
Common reasons your neck hurts
Posture and desk work
Sitting with your head craned toward a screen strains the neck muscles. Tech neck and text neck are this problem, made worse by hours looking down at a phone.
Whiplash
Whiplash is a strain injury where the head whips back and forth, usually in a car crash or a high-impact sports collision, and the soft tissues at the back of the neck are stretched. Claims and billing after a crash are covered under auto accident care.
Arthritis and joint wear
Neck joints wear with age like any other joint. Osteoarthritis can thin the cartilage between vertebrae and stiffen the neck. See Arthritis & Joint Pain.
Pinched nerve in neck
A herniated disc in the neck or a narrowed space where nerves exit can compress a nerve. This is cervical radiculopathy.
When the pain travels into your arm or head
The neck is often the source of problems that show up somewhere else.
Neck pain radiating down arm
Numbness, tingling or weakness in the arm and hand can start at a pinched nerve in the neck. Sometimes the cause is at the wrist instead. After a crash, a post-concussion neck problem is covered under Concussion. See Carpal Tunnel, and for pain at the shoulder itself, Shoulder Pain.
Headaches from the neck
Tight neck muscles and stiff upper neck joints can trigger headaches. Headaches and migraines has more.
Jaw and neck together
The jaw and neck work as a unit, so jaw pain often needs the neck treated too. See TMJ and jaw pain.
What your neck treatment looks like
We start with an evaluation and build from it.
Evaluation
Your physical therapist measures neck range of motion, checks strength and nerve signs, and finds the movements that cause your symptoms and any limits the pain has put on your day. You agree on goals together.
Hands-on care
Manual therapy and cervical mobilization reduce stiffness and improve range of motion. Dry Needling for tight muscle, and electrical stimulation, Therapeutic Ultrasound or cervical traction are added when they fit.
Strength and posture
Deep neck flexor strengthening and targeted exercises build the muscles that support your neck, while posture work protects it from re-injury.
Set up your workstation to take the load off your neck
Many of the people we see in Hot Springs, Arkansas spend long days looking down or at a screen. Part of your care is ergonomic training: where to place your monitor, how to sit, how to hold your phone and how often to change position.
The right setup does not replace exercise, but it keeps you from undoing it between visits.
See a doctor first, or go to the ER, if you have
- Neck pain after a fall or crash
- Dizziness or vision changes when you move your neck
- Arm weakness that is getting worse
Not sure whether your plan needs a referral? Call us. As a courtesy, we verify your health benefits before you arrive.
Neck pain care in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Joint Effort Physical Therapy treats Neck pain at our Hot Springs clinic, 1880 Airport Rd., Suite C.
Not sure whether your plan needs a referral? Call us. As a courtesy, we verify your health benefits before you arrive.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.